Dwyane Wade has One Good Leg Left

Dwyane Wade Kneeds My Attention & Bad Puns

I’m obligated by my conscience to inform you of two things before I allow you to process what I’m about to tell you:

1. I’m not a doctor
2. I’m a Bulls fan

After being tipped off by a passing remark, I’ve been examining Wade closely for about a week, and have come to the conclusion that something seems to be off with his right knee. I can’t pretend to know the severity of Wade’s injury. I just know what I’m seeing.

I’ve watched, and re-watched, every Heat game during these playoffs (how’s that for credibility, eh?), and I started to notice something during the Heat-Celtics series: Dwyane Wade was driving left to the hoop every time he attacked off the dribble. At first glance, this wasn’t that odd. I’m an NBA connoisseur (fancy way of saying nerd), and as such I’m well aware that Wade’s left leg is the one he prefers to jump off of. Some people are “left handed”, Dwyane Wade is “left legged”. What was strange to me was the way he was attacking the rim and shooting his jumpshots:

• Wade was making an effort to generate lift exclusively off of his left leg.
• Any jump that involved Wade creating lift using his right leg–making a pass, taking a shot, or contesting on defense–resulted in him only being able to lift himself mere inches off the ground.

Those are not things I’m used to seeing from an athlete of Wade’s caliber. This is the same guy we all lovingly call Flash, and he suddenly can’t even pivot off his right leg? Watch Wade for yourself and tell me I’m off base. If he miraculously heals during the excessively long 72 hour layoff between Games 1 & 2, oh well. I just don’t think he will. I did not draw this conclusion based on one game, but rather something that has gotten progressively worse as the playoffs went along. I can’t pin-point the exact moment it happened because I suspect it was a condition that Wade was already dealing with, but Wade seemed to aggravate to the point of affecting his play after a couple of knee knocks during Game 4 of Miami’s series with Philadelphia, and the condition was worsened by the Celtic player’s insistence of banging into the knee whenever they got the chance. At this point, and I’m basing this off Wade relying more and more on one leg the last 4 playoff games, he doesn’t look like the same Dwyane Wade.

It’s not that Wade can’t be amazing with one leg. From what I saw, he played the entire series against Boston in that condition, with the injury being especially noticeable the last 3 games of that series. In case you stumbled upon this article looking for weather, you should know that the Miami Heat won that series. And Dwyane Wade was incendiary in the process. I’ve never had more respect for him as a competitor. Especially after re-watching what he accomplished favoring one leg. Of course, when one takes off using one’s left leg and finishes righty, it sure is easier to score when your primary defender’s left arm doesn’t work. NOW THAT WAS LIBEL. As you may have guessed, I wasn’t privy to the on court conversations between Wade and his Boston Celtic opponents, so labeling what happened between him and Rondo is only speculation. I’m simply pointing it out to make sure nothing fishy is tried against the Bulls. (I’m looking at you Jamaal Magloire–guy who used a hard foul to slam Derrick Rose’s left shoulder.)

Don’t get me wrong, because Dwyane Wade is still a breathtaking athlete, he can manage to be near exceptional playing on only one good leg for as far as the Heat’s playoff run takes them. After all, it is his better leg that’s the healthy one. Heck, we already saw what he did in Game 5 against Boston. I just don’t think he can be nearly as effective if the other team defends him knowing he can only jump one way like the Bulls did in Game 1. It takes away from that whole athletic advantage that makes Wade who he is. Miami can still win the title because Wade has proven to be crafty enough to score with one leg, but it’s going to be a lot tougher. Especially since, and this is more unhealthy speculation, he looks like his condition is worsening.

I’m sure Wade will prove me or anyone else who shares this suspicion wrong, when he throws down a monster jam jumping off his right leg in Game 2. I hope he does. The idea that the Heat can be this good with a one-legged Wade and a 7-man rotation makes me very nervous for their future title prospects. (Imagine what the Heat will accomplish with a capable coach who appropriately uses his available big men against a bigger team…) I also know that if Flash tries too hard to prove some snot like me wrong, he’ll be risking further damage to a gimpy knee. A gamble not worthwhile for a 29 year old athlete with an inconsistent jumper. It’s gonna be hard to improve that jumper when you are recovering from off season surgery, Dwyane. That was just plain mean. I need to take a shower after that one. I don’t wish Wade any harm, I truly don’t. Battle & fighting metaphors are just so easy to fall into when describing a playoff series.

I hate the Heat for no other reason than they are really good, and represent a roadblock between my favorite team and the NBA Finals. Am I treading a morality line here by being as brass as I am in my tone about what I believe to be a season-altering injury? Absolutely. Other than the stupid fact that Wade happens to play for the Heat, from what I read and have witnessed, Dwyane Wade is one of the best human beings that plays in the NBA. I couldn’t help but feel happy for him and LeBron after they beat the Celtics, and I was rooting for the Celtics. I’m a sucker for watching unadulterated joy over accomplishment. That’s kind of why I like the NBA. Don’t get me wrong, I literally watched the post-game Heat press conference trying to find some reason to react to what Wade/LeBron were saying, and yet I couldn’t. Somehow, other media members were able to accomplish this better than me, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort on my part.

I’m beating around the bush here. Just so there’s no confusion: the point of this post is that I’m fairly certain Dwyane Wade has an injured right leg. I don’t know the degree to which it’s injured, but it looks like it is significantly impairing him from playing at the superstar level I have come to expect. It doesn’t look like it’s a situation that’s improving. If I figured this out, someone else in the media knows, and I don’t know why this hasn’t come out. The Celtics and Bulls have played playoff games against the Heat like they know this information. And if they know, someone who covers the Miami Heat knows this. That’s what I’m getting at here by throwing around blatantly biased tones. If you can take only one thing from my meandering rant, this is the paragraph I want you to put in a napkin and save.

Sports journalism is an oxy-moron in that sense. Rooting interests are always present when writing about competition. People’s ways of life aren’t at stake during these games; only money and passion. Ignoring the existence of bias is a greater threat to sports journalism than any other element. When you consume content about sports, you really should know what angle is being worked. I’m getting at a larger point for another post.

I’m not intending to besmirch Dwyane Wade here. I’m merely passing along my honest observations. Whether they’re worth anything can be determined by your anger, awe, or attention. You can either choose to forget that I wrote this or be reminded of what you read here when you watch Wade maneuver in his next game. If what I said rings true, I hope you give me some credit for noticing.